Imaging the ICU Patient

The critical care unit is an intense clinical environment with huge responsibilities on the professionals caring for these patients. Imaging is a key source of diagnostic information, but the conditions in which diagnostic imaging has to be performed are often extremely challenging and significantly different to imaging in the non acute setting. Imaging the ICU Patient reviews imaging procedures on the ICU in a highly practical and memorable manner. Swift and efficient clinical decision-making is rewarded on the ICU and this book serves as a practical handbook. Front Matter....Pages i-xvii Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Radiography....Pages 3-11 Ultrasound....Pages 13-21 Computed Tomography....Pages 23-33 Magnetic Resonance Imaging....Pages 35-46 Angiography....Pages 47-53 Front Matter....Pages 55-55 Imaging Referrals in their Legal Context....Pages 57-65 Image Review and Reporting....Pages 67-71 Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS)....Pages 73-75 Front Matter....Pages 77-77 The Ideal Radiology Suite....Pages 79-83 Patient Preparation....Pages 85-89 Transfer of the Critical Care Patient....Pages 91-97 Contrast Media....Pages 99-106 MRI Practicalities....Pages 107-113 Front Matter....Pages 115-115 Stroke....Pages 117-126 Infections of the Central Nervous System....Pages 127-141 Seizures....Pages 143-152 Altered Level of Consciousness....Pages 153-163 Brain Death....Pages 165-172 Front Matter....Pages 173-173 Hypoxia and the General ITU Patient....Pages 175-190 Persistent Hypoxemia Despite Intervention....Pages 191-200 Front Matter....Pages 173-173 Hypercarbia and Difficulties in Mechanical Ventilation....Pages 201-207 Persistent Chest Pain....Pages 209-217 Mediastinal Masses....Pages 219-229 Sepsis of Thoracic Origin....Pages 231-243 Cardiogenic and Non-cardiogenic Shock....Pages 245-255 Front Matter....Pages 257-257 Post-operative Abdominal Wall Cellulitis....Pages 259-265 Post-operative Trans-Abdominal Wall Succus Entericus or Stool Drainage....Pages 267-272 Abdominal Distension and Feeding Intolerance....Pages 273-286 New Onset of Fever and Leukocytosis....Pages 287-295 Acutely Decreased Hemoglobin....Pages 297-302 Acute Kidney Injury....Pages 303-307 Acute Gastrointestinal Luminal Hemorrhage....Pages 309-314 Intra-abdominal Hypertension....Pages 315-319 Large Volume Diarrhea....Pages 321-324 Front Matter....Pages 325-325 Blunt Abdominal Trauma....Pages 327-338 Penetrating Abdominal Trauma....Pages 339-344 Pelvic Trauma....Pages 345-350 Chest Trauma: Blunt Aortic and Cardiac Trauma....Pages 351-357 Vascular Trauma....Pages 359-363 Traumatic Brain Injury....Pages 365-375 Front Matter....Pages 325-325 Spinal Cord Injury....Pages 377-380 Neck Injury....Pages 381-389 The Pregnant Trauma Patient....Pages 391-398 Back Matter....Pages 399-409 Work in intensive care is dynamic and often requires swift decision-making to achieve the best patient outcome. This book serves as a practical guide for professionals working in this demanding area of medicine. It reviews diagnostic options as well as strengths and weaknesses of imaging techniques in clinical scenarios familiar to most ICU clinicians. The concise format allows rapid access to key information. Imaging the ICU Patient is a true collaboration between critical care and radiology. It demystifies the process of deciding when and how to image the critically ill patient. Using a symptom-orientated approach, it addresses techniques as well as patient safety issues. It is meant to be used by critical care clinicians and radiologists and aims to foster a better appreciation of the concerns both specialties have when imaging critically ill patients